Rowing: Bay girls upstage fancied clubmates

DIGGING DEEP: Hawke's Bay novice girls' coxed four No2 crew of coxswain Sarah Forster, Christina Rice, Carys McCrory, Briana Herbert and Ella Daly on their way to victory PHOTO/Warren Buckland

SO HOW much influence has the No1 tag got on the end of sports teams' names?

Very little if you happen to be a member of the Hawke's Bay Rowing Club's novice girls' coxed four No2 crew.

"The Hawke's Bay No1 crew were just expected to be better and they did beat us yesterday," the No2 crew's coxswain Sarah Forster said after her crew's win in yesterday's final on the last day of the club's annual New Year's Regatta at Clive.

"It was a close race for the first kilometre and we pulled away during the last 500 metres. They beat us by a similar distance yesterday," Forster explained.

Thirteen-year-old Forster, who is a second-year rower and year 9 student at Napier Girls' High School, also pointed out that both crews, who are coached by club stalwart Cedric Bayly, had been together for the same length of time - since the season began in September.

Fellow NGHS student, 15-year-old Ella Davy, believed a three-day training camp the crew had between Christmas and New Year was the key to their win yesterday.

Davy is a daughter of former Coast-to-Coast competitor and national waka ama champion Alan Davy.

"I get my sporting genes from dad and I decided to get into rowing when I saw the enjoyment my sister, Karleigh, who is in her fourth year, got out of it," Davy said.

Sibling rivalry also inspired another member of the crew, Carys McCrory, into rowing. The Havelock North High School year 10 student's 18-year-old brother, Duncan, also rows.

For Iona College year 10 student Briana Herbert, it was a case of linking up with a sport her mother, Trudi, once enjoyed.

The fifth member of the crew, NGHS year 10 student Christina Rice, got involved after hearing friends talk about rowing at school.

After their success yesterday all five are hoping they remain together as a crew for the North Island champs in Whanganui on January 16. Should they do well there they will qualify for the February 16-21 Lake Karapiro-hosted nationals.

The four rowers combined with the Bay's No1 crew of Leah Harvey, Imke Kitchin, Emma Jacobs and Grace Petersen to form the weekend's winning novice girls' eight crew.

This was coxed by Brooklyn Bayly, a granddaughter of Cedric Bayly after whom their new boat is named.

"We also did novice quad and double as well as club eight races ... all up we did 10 races over the weekend. We'll be back here for training tomorrow too," Herbert explained.

There's no doubt more will be heard about members of this No2 crew in future. However they are unlikely to have No2 as part of their team name for too much longer.

Hawke's Bay retained the Tremains Hawke's Bay Cup for the top club at the regatta with a 53-point winning margin over Whanganui's Aramoho club. Porirua finished third, 83 points behind the host club.

Hawke's Bay won four of the five shootouts which provided an exciting finale to the two-day event, which attracted more than 200 rowers from 12 clubs from throughout the North Island, along with the New Zealand women's eight crew which is coached by former Hawke's Bay club member Dave Thompson.

Thompson's crew finished third in yesterday's open eight final behind the Aramoho men and Hawke's Bay men.

The Bay's women's novice coxed four captured the Leonard Harrison Memorial Trophy, which was one of two major trophies up for grabs in addition to the top points trophy.

Hawke's Bay's men's novice coxed four crew won the NRC Tanker Trophy.

The host club's other wins were by the men's novice double, women's club eight, women's novice double, women's open single, women's club coxed four, women's club single, women's open double, masters eight, women's club coxed quad and women's open coxless quad.